Moulin Rouge
by Llamas Are Sexy
Summary: Mai is the female lead in ths school play, as well as being a part-time ghost hunter. As if that wasn't bad enough, she's been having explicit and disturbing dreams. Something sinister is circulating around Mai, and hopefully Naru can stop it.
1. Rehearsal

Well, this won't actually be my first fanfiction. I had anther one up, but I deleted it when I realized that I wasn't going to continue with it. This fic my be AU or it might not be. If it's AU, I don't see how I can make Naru jealous. If It's not, I'm not sure I could get Naru in it at _all._ So, we'll see, but I can tell you one thing. Paranormal activity is going to be as little as possible, either way.

And for the record, I have most of the movie of Moulin Rouge memorized because I have watched it repeatedly until the dialogue was burned mercilessly into my brain. Enjoy

The regular Disclaimer applies here.

Italics - Thoughts, emphasis, and script lines.

* * *

**Moulin Rouge**

Arm's out. Stride and leap. His hands around her waist. Swinging her back. Twisting her hips. Jutting out her chest. Arms around his neck. Leg on his hip. His hand on your thigh.

Freeze.

Slower.

Hands roaming down her leg. Standing still. Face towards the ceiling. Pivot on her heal. Strut.

Stop.

Speed up again.

Look back over her shoulder. Hand on her hip. Her arm to the side. His hands sliding down her hips. Spin around. Lace her hands with his. Slide down his body. Drag your hands down. Feel almost everything.

Sitting on the floor. Hand's on his thigh. His hand on her head.

"_Cut!"_

Mai slumped her shoulders and panted. She had been practicing for over two hours. What did this man want from her?

"It's a contemporary dance, people. _Make it seductive!"_ The director shouted. "Yukiko, rotate your hips with everyone else! Timing, please! Keiko, when you stride across the stage, and leap, your arms are supposed to open wider, like you are flying. You, honey, are _falling._ Soichiro, when you catch her, make it sharp. Don't dip with her weight."

"But she's heavy–ow!"

"Miss Keiko, I will _not _stand for violence on my stage!"

Keiko crossed her arms and huffed while Soichiro rubbed his head.

"Kenji, when you dip Mai it's not meant to be so fast. Slow it down when she's in the middle then bring her back up to you again. Mai, don't hold your arms out far. It slows the whole dance down."

"Got it. Sorry."

The director sighed.

"You are supposed to be Satine, Mai. So _be _Satine."

"Sorry Sensei; I'll try harder." Mai said and bowed to him. He stared at her, calculating in his mind, and then he waved her off with his hand.

"Do not worry, _Satine._ Practice makes perfect. Break time, everyone." he clapped twice and the students scattered mercilessly to get their water bottles. Mai scuttled slowly over to her group of friends and plopped down on the floor, panting.

"Who knew making a play would be so difficult?" She asked. Yukiko nudged her.

"It's not a play, _darling_–" she joked

"–_It's a musical masterpiece!"_ The others finished. Mai rolled her eyes.

"Whatever. I'm just saying that for a play–"

"Musical Masterpiece."

"What_ever._ For a _musical masterpiece_ it's a little bit too... seductive for a high school performance, don't you think?" Mai asked. Her friends chatted amongst themselves. Some of them shrugged.

"Personally, I think that's _why _we're doing the play. Sensei wants to show that world, or at least, whoever comes to see our show that even though we're in high school, he can still teach us something as mature as this." Keiko. Yukiko agreed with her.

"Yeah. Something like that." she said.

"Ah, whatever. I still don't see why I was chosen as the lead female role. When I asked him, he said it was because Satine was really like 'the girl next door' only a little more sexy." Mai said, rolling over onto her stomach and putting her chin in her hands.

"Well, you are definitely the 'girl next door.' I'll say that." Yukiko said. "But I don't know about sexy."

Mai rolled her eyes.

"What are you talking about? Mai is totally sexy! Hot!" Keiko joked, and winked at her exhausted friend. Mai knew all too well what she was getting at, and turned her head slightly to the side to study her dance partner.

Apparently, he liked Mai a lot, but wasn't particularly fond of dancing. When he heard she had tried out for the show, he did too. Mai got the lead, but Kenji was only a dancer. Who knew he would be good at something he disliked.

"Just because I hate it doesn't mean I suck at it. Dancing just isn't my thing, that's all." he'd said when Mai talked to him the day before.

And actually, Mai didn't even _want_ to go out for the show. The thought never even crossed her mind. Her friends signed her name up without her knowing and then dragged her to the auditorium against her will. When she tried to escape, the Director found her, and instantly concluded that she was the lead female.

Mai didn't even have to try out. When they finally did get around to rehearsals, to her own surprise, Mai found that she was an excellent actress. She could conceal her emotions, and release them without a hitch, and best of all, eye drops weren't needed as she could make herself cry in heartbeat.

She was so good at what she was doing, and she had no idea how.

"Ok everyone, the dancing has from this moment _ceased_. We are moving on to Act three scene five." the Sensei hollered. Keiko's eyes fell on Mai.

"What?" she asked. Keiko pinched her cheeks.

"What do you mean _what?_ This is your scene! Didn't you red the script? It's with Higuchi-sempai!" she hissed. Mai pulled away from her friend and rubbed her cheek. She changed positions to where she was sitting Indian style.

"So?" Mai said simply. Her friend looked at her in disbelief and then tapped Yukiko on the shoulder.

"_She didn't read the script."_

"_What?"_

"What's going on?" Mai inquired. Judging by how alarmed they were, Mai figured that it was a very important scene.

_Oh I knew I should've read more..._

"I can't believe you didn't read it! This is the scene with Higuchi-sempai! The lead male!" Yukiko hissed.

"Uh...so?"

"_What do you mean so!"_ her friends screeched in unison. Mai flinched. They were acting like it was the end of the world.

"I didn't have time to read the whole thing." she said looking at her hands. "I had to get to work and–"

"This is one of the romance scenes. With kissing! _You will be kissing Higuchi-sempai."_

"Oh."

Yeah. Oh.

Crap that is.

"Really?"

"Yeah!"

"So, um, do I _have _to kiss him in this scene?"

"_Don't be stupid. _Of course you do!"

"Oh." crap.

"Ladies."

All three girls jumped at the sound of their teacher. They looked up and saw that he was looming over them with a smile forced on his lips.

"H-hai?" they asked.

"If you don't mind stopping your little _girl-fest_, I would like to get on with rehearsals." he said. Mai looked around and saw that everyone had sat down in the seats in the auditorium, or they were off to the sides. Some were practicing their lines while others watched Mai intently.

"Um, um, sorry sensei!" Mai said and stood up. She bowed her apology to him and then went to look for her script. Yukiko and Keiko stood up as well and walked off stage.

When Mai returned, she had her script in hand. She walked to the center of the stage, flipping through the pages.

"Hey Mai."

Mai looked up and saw Higuchi Tetsuya standing in front of her. She blinked. "Hi."

"Ready?" he asked, smiling a million dollar smile. Mai blushed slightly.

"Um, yeah. Pretty much. I just found the page." she smiled back. He nodded.

"Great."

"Are you two ready?" Sensei asked. The two nodded.

"And... _go."_

Mai turned away from Tetsuya and started walking away slowly. She turned her head and looked back at him, blinking a few times.

"_Please, you can't!"_ Tetsuya read. Mai turned her head away from him, sadly, and slumped her shoulders.

" _I... I don't have a choice... It's for the play."_

"_Please! Satine! Don't go to that man! He can never love you like I do! In fact, I'm sure he _doesn't _love you!"_

"_Christian," _Mai said, turning her head away from the audience. She brought her hand up to her mouth. _"You don't understand. I don't want to, but I will if I have too."_

Tetsuya strode over to where she was, placed his hands on her shoulders, and spun her around to face him. Mai had tears in her eyes, as planned.

"_You don't have to! Don't do it. We can leave! Run away with me Satine! I will take you to a place where you will have no more problems, or fears! Where no ne can bother us!"_

Mai pulled away from him, only to be jerked back to him.

"_Please!"_ he begged.

"_Can we? Really? You would take a damned whore like me and run away?" _Mai asked. Tetsuya shook his head.

"_No. I would take the woman I love with me, Satine, and leave the damned whore behind."_

Mai's face was ecstatic. _"Christian!"_

She placed her hand upon his cheek and started to draw him nearer. Her heart beat was racing, pounding in ger chest. The blood in her veins were so hot, they scalded her. Her breathe quickened slightly. Her mouth parted as he was only a few centimeters away and then

"_Cut!"_

Mai shot backwards, away from tetsuya, stumbled and fell on her derriere.

"Ow." she said. She had been completely caught off guard. Maybe she was getting a little _too _into character...

"That was perfect, you two! Absolutely brilliant! Marvelous! You two go together like Hollywood and magic!"

Mai and Tetsuya stared at him. His smile fell.

"Nevermind that. Oh! I am _so _glad I chose right! You two really are Satine and Christian!" he clapped his hands together and sighed dreamily.

"Well, um, thank you Sensei. But why did you–?" Mai was cut off.

"Stop the kiss? Because it is to be _special! _If you practice it here, it will seem completely rehearsed on opening night. I want the kisses to be real. I want everyone to feel the passion!"

"_Aha...hahahahahaha...ha...haha..."_ Mai laughed nervously, but it came out sounding crazy.

"And on that note," the Sensei turned around and faced everyone in the audience, "practice is _over!"_

Mai sighed with relief and exited stage left to go gather her things. She reached her bag and put her things inside f it. When she was sure she had everything, she turned around to go find her friends, but found Higuchi Tetsuya standing in front of her.

"You did good today, Mai." he said, smiling that million dollar smile. Mai blushed and averted her eyes.

"Uh, thanks. So did you."

"So, you asked why we didn't kiss." He said frankly. Mai's blush deepened.

"Uh, yeah. Why?"

"Well, if you want to practice it so bad, we could. Like say, tonight? My parents aren't home and I'll be there all night." He said.

Mai didn't know whether or not to freak out or be flattered. How could he say it with such an innocent smile?

Mai was half tempted to take his offer, just to see what would happen, but decided to decline. She had to get to work. She couldn't be late more than she already was.

Three hours is kind of pushing it.

"Um, that'd be nice Higuchi-sempai–"

"Please, drop the formality. Call me Tetsuya."

"Uh, Tetsuya-sempai, but I'm late for work." _by three hours,_ she might add.

"Oh, well that's ok. I'll ask you again though, and I'll only stop when you say yes." He said, and walked away.

Mai froze.

"I think... _I think I just had an out of body experience..."_ she said. She shook it off soon afterwards, then went to go find her friends.

* * *

"Thanks Yuki," Mai said when she entered her friends room. Yuki looked up from her magazine and smiled.

"Any time." She said. Mai returned the smile and then reached for her bag on Yuki's bed. She had arranged it with Yuki to go to her house after every practice so that she could shower before going to work, since Yuki's house was closer. She couldn't very well walk into the Office of SPR sticky and smelly, but seeing as how Naru was going to kill her, she couldn't really see how it mattered much.

After her last rehearsal, she came in late and Naru practically bit off her head about it. He told her not to be late again. So Mai obliged and left rehearsal earlier the next day. She got scolded by the Sensei after that, so Mai had to choose.

They hadn't had any real cases in almost a month. And the cases they did have were always around town so she didn't have to miss school. When she asked naru about utm he confirmed to her that they were having a "Dry Spell". Mai freaked out, actually thinking someone had put a spell on them. As per usual, he called her stupid and made Lin explain it to her.

"I have to go." Mai said, and then she bid her friend goodbye, promising to call later that night.

On her way to the office, Mai notice how much colder the weather had gotten. It was colder than usual, do to her damp hair, but she realized that it was almost halfway through the month of October.

It was going to snow soon.

"I need to get my winter clothes out." Mai said to herself.

Climbing the steps and walking down the hall to the office door, Mai had a feeling of impending doom.

Oh boy, she had no idea.

As soon as she opened the door a cold chill flew at her as Naru said cooly, "Where have you been?"

Mai gulped as she took off her jacket and placed it on the coat hook. "Um, I was at school."

"For three hours?" He inquired skeptically. "Sooner or later your excuses will run out."

"It's not an excuse, it's the truth! I was at school for so long because of...rehearsal..." she said.

Naru's ears twitched at this. It made sense to him now, but still, he was not pleased.

"You are in a play?" He asked. Mai felt half inclined to say _Musical Masterpiece,_ but refrained for fear of dying on the spot from his glare.

"Yes. Moulin Rouge." she said.

"Really? Moulin Rouge? Isn't that a bit mature for high school kids?" Said a different bt familiar voice. Mai's gaze fell on the blonde haired guitar playing monk sitting in the chair. How she failed to miss him, she'll never know.

"Uh, yeah, I thought so too. Sensei wants to prove that he can _"teach mere children the finest Musical masterpiece that has ever blessed this country!"_ He wants to prove that we are capable of more than "Aunt Mame" or "Romeo and Juliet". Some dream he's had for the longest." Mai explained.

"Oh, I see. Are you on staff?" Bou-san asked. Mai shook her head and made her way deeper into the office. She sat down on the couch next to the chair he was in.

"So, did anything happen while I wasn't here?" Mai asked, changing the subject. Both men in the room noticed how she changed the subject so subtly.

"You would know had you been here." Naru instantly said. His back was turned so Mai stuck her tongue out at him, which earned a chuckle from the monk.

"Hmph. Well, obviously something happened if Bou-san is here." She said.

"Well, yeah actually. Something did happen. There was a small haunting at a nearby convenience store, but I took care of it pretty swiftly." Takigawa bragged. Mai giggled.

"I see. Nothing that would have missed me, I'm sure." she said.

"So, you're in the play?" Takigawa said, changing the subject back to it's original content. Mai mentally cursed the blonde man for being so deft.

"Uh...yeah. I'm in the play." She said.

"Really? Do you have a big part? Or are you one of many underling characters?"

"Um, my part is quite big actually... does anyone want tea?" Mai asked. Takigawa pointed to the cup in his hand. Mai mentally kicked herself.

_Crap... how did I miss that?_

"Oh, then, uh, nevermind. Any filing that needs to be done?" Mai asked Naru, who was still in the room flipping through yellow file folders. Mai was sure he would've gone back to his office.

"No. It's all taken care of. Takigawa is a good organizer, I have just recently discovered." He said. Mai blinked and looked at Takigawa.

"How long have you been here?" she asked.

"Since three." he said simply.

"Oh."

"So it's almost like you didn't have to come in." he smiled broadly.

"Do not take that to heart, Mai. Punctuality is a virtue."

"Say's the robot. I'm sorry Naru. I had to stay for rehearsals." as soon as the words left her mouth, she instantly regretted them.

"Well, since you seem so _keen_ on talking about it, what part do you have? Are you the doctor? The neighbor?" Takigawa inquired. Mai cursed herself. _No escape now..._

"Um, no. I'm Satine." she said.

Silence. If a pin dropped on the other side of town, Mai was sure she would have heard it.

"_Satine?"_

"The lead female role, yes." Mai said.

"So you are a hooker?"

"A modern-age courtesan. And no, I am _not._ I'm playing a part."

"Of a hooker."

"_Courtesan."_

"Same thing. I can't believe you are playing a high-priced whore! What made you try out for that role?" Takigawa wasn't sure if he should be proud, or outraged. Mai was the star role in a high school production, but she was playing a _hooker_. Mixed feelings suck.

"Um, actually, my friends signed my name up, and they dragged me to try outs. I tried to leave but was caught by the director who decided I was the Satine right then and there. I didn't have t try out."

"I would like to have a word with this director guy." the Monk said. The battle was over and outrage overpowered being proud. "You cannot play this part."

"But I'm really good at it! Everyone says I'm a great actress, and I can't just pull out now. Opening night is this Friday!"

"They can get the understudy to do it. You can't, Mai. It's degrading." he said. He just didn't understand how mai couldn't understand. Glancing at Naru, his anger rose when he noticed that the black clad teen wasn't saying anything about this even though his feelings were obvious to everyone... except Mai (and possibly Masako since she was hanging around the Office earlier that day.).

"Don't you have anything to say about this, Naru?" The older man asked.

"Not really." he said, no trace of anything in his voice.

"Gah! This is unbelievable. Mai."

Mai placed her hand on his arm when he said her name. Takigawa looked up and she smiled at him.

"Don't worry, Monk-san. It's just a part. Play pretend. Satine doesn't define me. I define her."

And with those words, she changed his mind.

"It's getting rather late. You two should get home." Naru said. He moved from his position of leaning against the couch, and went into his office.

"What about you?" Mai called out.

"I still have some work to do."

"Oh, well then I'll stay and–"

"Go home Mai." Naru's voice filled the air. The Monk smiled when he saw the expression on Mai's face.

So Naru was irritation after all.

"Why you jerk! Al I was doing was trying to–"

"Come on, Mai. I'll take you home. Have you eaten? No? We'll get something on the way."

When the other two were gone, Lin came out of his office with a few papers in hand, and knocked on Naru's door.

"Enter." he heard. Lin opened the door and went in.

"Here. These cover the case today." he said. Naru nodded, but didn't look him from what he was writing down.

"You know..." Lin started. "You shouldn't snap at her like that. One of the days, she'll bite you. Hard."

"What are you going on about?" Naru looked up at his assistant who only looked at him blankly.

"Naru. You are an idiot." he said, and then he made his exit through the open door.

* * *

-SPINOFF-

Mai pulled away from him, only to be jerked back to him.

"_Please!"_ he begged.

"_Can we? Really? You would take a damned whore like me and run away?" _Mai asked. Tetsuya shook his head.

"_No. I would take the woman I love with me, Satine, and leave the damned whore behind."_

Mai's face was ecstatic. _"Christian!"_

She placed her hand upon his cheek and started to draw him nearer. Her heart beat was racing, pounding in ger chest. The blood in her veins were so hot, they scalded her. Her breathe quickened slightly. Her mouth parted as he was only a few centimeters away and then

He sneezed. Right in her face.

"_EW!!" _Mai Shrieked.


	2. Relentless Dreams

**A/N** I do not own GHOST HUNT. Wish I did, though.

* * *

**Moulin Rouge**

_Mai didn't know where she was. It was dark, and suffocating. It felt like she was drowning in luke-warm water. She moved her limbs about, to see if she was in some sort of enclosed space, and found that wherever she was, it was a wide-spread area. Not knowing what else to do, she took a step forward._

_She fell. And continued to fall, opening her mouth to scream out for. No words escaped her mouth as the terror of impending doom overcame her._

_What is going on?_

_She wished someone would reach out to her, grab her, and save her._

_Like magic, she felt a sudden grip on her shoulder, stopping her. Catching her. She looked around, but could see no one. A faint light was shining around her though. She could vaguely make out her settings. She was in a room of some kind. It was dark, and she was sitting on a bed._

_At first she thought it was her room, but when she felt herself being roughly shoved back onto the bed, she figured it wasn't._

_Someone was on top of her, clawing, grabbing, scratching at her body, trying to have every inch of her in their hands. She screamed._

"_Let go!"_

_The silhouette of a male made its way to her vision. She couldn't recognize him. He seemed familiar. She'd met him before, of that she was sure. She wanted to ask him, "What are you doing?" but as she opened her mouth, it was covered with his. A tongue forced itself into her mouth, thrashing about for dominance of her own. She screamed._

_They were wrestling then; he, for a hold over her. She, for a way to escape._

_His hand drew back, and as it came nearer, she braced herself for an impact that never came._

_Mai opened her eyes, and found herself alone in the room. The male figure was nowhere to be seen. She looked down at her body and found bruises all over. Her clothes were ripped, and there was blood all over the cover, leaking from in between her legs…_

Mai awoke from her dream in a cold sweat. Her heart was beating wildly as her eyes searched about the room.

It was her room, she concluded, and she was all alone.

Swinging her legs over the side of the bed, she threw off the covers, got up, and made her way to the door. She pulled it open and stumbled out into the darkness of the hallway. Her hands clumsily traveled the length of the wall, until they found the light switch. The hall was filled with a bright light instantly. Mai winced at the sudden bright attack on her eyes. She slowly opened them, giving her eyes a chance to get used to the light.

She made her way out into her living room, and plopped herself down onto the couch. She turned on the TV as she looked at the clock on the wall.

Three thirty-one.

Mai sighed, knowing full well, that she wouldn't be able to fall back asleep. She briefly considered calling someone for reassurance, but shook her. She didn't want to bother anyone. She had weird dreams all the time. They usually meant something but Mai was hoping that, just this once, they wouldn't.

She knew better though.

* * *

"_Mai! Concentrate!"_

"Huh?"

Mai blinked her eyes a few times, focusing in on the instructor.

"What is it?" she asked numbly. The teacher sighed and shook his head.

"If my class is so uninteresting to you, you can just go wait in the office." He said. Mai blinked, not understanding at first, then she looked around, and saw that she was in her classroom. Her cheeks were flooded with a blush in seconds.

"Oh! I'm sorry Sensei! I was just, uh, thinking about, um, well. I was thinking about the, uh, the play. Yeah! I was thinking about play rehearsal I have this afternoon!"

The teacher eyed her suspiciously. He knew she was lying, but decided to let it go, seeing as how he hardly has trouble out of her.

"Right, well, worry about that later. It's class time." He said, and then he turned around and made his way back up to the chalkboard. Mai sighed. That dream she had last night was just occupying her mind. It was actually starting to annoy her. Mai shook her head, and started to listen to what the instructor was saying.

The director sighed in frustration. "Cut!" he bellowed.

Everyone instantly stopped doing the dance routine and looked around.

"What's wrong?" someone asked.

"Mai, please come over here."

Mai sighed in defeat. This was the third time he had talked to her. She made her way offstage and over to where he was sitting.

"Yes?" she asked. The instructor rubbed his temples slowly with his eyes closed.

"Ok, I don't really want to sound like I'm harping on you or anything but, _what the hell are you doing?"_

Mai blinked. "Excuse me?"

"That's the third time you did something incorrectly? What happened to the girl I saw at auditions? She was brilliant!"

"But, I didn't even audition. You drafted me."

"DETAILS! Details my darling." He smiled with fakery. "What I'm trying to say is that, please try to concentrate more. I can't have you repeating these mistakes when it's time for opening night!"

"I'm sorry, Sensei. I'm just so tired—"

"My dear girl; _everyone_ is tired. But we must move on. This is ART!"

"I know, I _know_. But could you just listen to me please?" Mai said. She was actually starting to get dizzy with the way he was moving his arms about. The instructor clapped his hands.

"Ok, back to work with you! Everyone! Take it from the top!" he looked at Mai, who was still standing beside him. "Well what are you doing here? Get back onstage!"

Mai sighed, knowing there was nothing she could do to get through to him. She turned around and walked up to the stage. She placed her arms on the edge and then pulled herself up. Standing up and making her way over to her dance partner, she dusted off her knees.

"What was that about?" Tetsuya asked. Mai shrugged. She didn't really feel like explaining. He took hold of her hand, and placed his other hand on her waist. Mai rested her hand on his shoulder, and closed her eyes.

Step out, step out, step out. Turn and dip. Stride, and twirl. Hands roaming down waist. Hand running through hair. Dip back, arms out. Pull up. Hold hands. Twirl, twirl, twirl…

Fall.

Fall.

Fall…

"_MAI!" _

* * *

_Mai looked up. She was once again in that room, on that bed. She began to get nervous. It was dark, and she was aware of some presence in the room. She felt the weight shift on the bed, and she was once again, underneath that male silhouette. Not sure of how far she was into this nightmare, she screamed, "NO!"_

_He smirked, and then thrust forward, rubbing their stomachs together. Mai felt a sudden pain in between her legs as he pushed onward into her lower region. Mai cried out in pain as he sped up mercilessly, ignoring her continuous sobs. Her insides constricted around him, as he protruded deeper into her._

"_STOP IT!" she wanted to cry, but no words escaped her. Only pain filled moans, and sobs._

_She jerked as he released himself into her, and then he wasn't there anymore, and it was just her, alone. Lying on a bloodied cover, she looked down, and saw that blood was continuously running from in between her legs. She rolled over onto her side, ignoring the searing pain that shot all through her abdomen, and cried silently, wishing for someone to save her._

"…_ai! MAI!"_

Mai awoke with a jump. She was surrounded by a blurry white, and as her eyes came into focus, she realized that someone was standing over her. Someone male. Mai's heart beat increased, more then it already had before, and shoved him away, crying out, "No! get away!"

Tears rolled down her cheeks as she tried to cover herself up with her arms. She was suddenly aware of beeping noises coming from in front of her. She opened her eyes and saw a heart monitor. Calming herself down, she slowly looked around at her surroundings, and saw that she was in a hospital room. Looking over her shoulder, she saw Naru standing there.

"What?" she whispered. As she looked around, she saw Takigawa, Yukiko, Keiko, Ayako, and Lin.

"Mai!" Yuki cried out. She and Keiko rushed over to there friend. They gathered her up in their arms, and hugged the crying girl.

"Mai, what's wrong?" Keiko asked.

"Tell us!" Yukiko said. Mai's crying was starting to worry her more than she already was.

Mai just continued to cry silently, wondering how many times she would have to suffer.

"I can't…" she choked out.

"You can't what?" Yuki pressed on.

"I can't! I can't! Never!" Mai said. Her two friends looked at each other.

"Mai, you're scaring me!" Keiko said.

"I can't sleep. I can't sleep! Ever again. I can't do it. I just can't! It's so scary. Please, just—" she couldn't even finish.

Mai covered her face with her hands and started to sob.

"W-why is th-this ha-happening to m-me?"

Later, when everyone calmed down, Mai was left alone. She it was late, and she was staring off into nothingness when a knock on the door came. She didn't hear it, so the door opened, and Naru entered. He sat down on the edge of the bed.

"Mai."

Mai blinked. Her eyes flickered over to him. The room was semi-dark, and Naru always wore dark clothing, so at first she thought it was the man from her nightmares. Seeing that she was starting to get upset, Naru quickly added, "It's me."

Recognizing his voice after a few seconds, Mai called down, and went back to staring off into space.

"What is going on?" he asked.

"What do you mean?" she said dully. Naru's eyes narrowed slightly at her aversion of the topic.

"You know what I mean. What happened today? What is happening to you?"

Mai swallowed. "Nothing. It's nothing." She looked at him, and gave him a fake smile. "Don't worry about it."

She could tell that her answer wasn't going to flow with him by the way his jaw tensed. He was starting to get annoyed.

"Mai." He said sternly. "Tell me."

"I can't."

"Why not?"

"I don't know. I just can't."

He sighed. This was more difficult then he had expected.

"I…" he chose his words carefully, slowly, "want to help you."

Mai said nothing.

"Help me help you."

"It's my dream." She said instantly. "I keep… I keep having the same dream every night, and each time, it becomes more explicit. It doesn't mean anything."

"What is this dream?"

"It doesn't. Mean anything."

"Mai."

She sighed, realizing that he wasn't going to let it go.

"I'm… I'm being raped." She avoided his piercing gaze. "I don't know who it is, why, or where. I just know that whenever I have this dream, it gets more explicit. After I have this nightmare, I can't go back to sleep." She took a deep breath. "I just feels so real, and I can even feel the…"

"The what, Mai?"

"The blood. There's always a lot of blood when he finishes. And the pain is so real. I can't stand it. I don't like the risk that I could have it again."

Naru was silent, taking all this information in.

"It usually comes in the middle of the night; around three or so. I wake up, and can't get back to sleep."

"Why didn't you call anyone before?" he asked.

"It was in the middle of the night. It didn't seem important enough. I thought about calling you, or Monk-san, but you always seemed annoyed when I call at night, and Takigawa needs a lot of sleep since he has a band and works late. Plus, I didn't want to worry anyone."

"Good luck with that." Naru said. "After that little episode you had, the doctors have decided to keep you over night."

"Oh, um. Speaking of which, why am I here in the first place?"

"Well, from what your friends have told us, you fainted from exhaustion as you were rehearsing a dance number."

"I'm in a hospital for _that?"_

"You fell offstage."

"Oh."

The silence between them was maddening.

"So what now?" Mai asked.

"You are going to stay here for the night, and then tomorrow, Lin will come and get you, and bring you to our place where you will take up residence until this passes."

Mai's eyes widened. "That could take weeks!"

"Maybe. But I'm pretty sure there is a case here somewhere. I'm not going to take any chances. If this were left alone, who knows? You could get hurt."

"It's just a dream Naru."

"There is a significant difference between dreams and reality, yes. But people tend to forget that sometimes."

Mai was offended. "I know the difference!" she insisted.

"Yes, but it _did_ take you a while to realize that your dream had ended earlier."

At his words, Mai realize he spoke the truth, and flushed.

"This is so hard." She whispered.

Naru nodded, with only one thing running across his mind.

_I _will _get to the bottom of this. _

* * *

Here you go. Drama for Dramatics. Lol. I'll update as soon as I can.


	3. Uncertain

**M O U L I N R O U G E**

Ever since she was released from the hospital two days ago, everyone had been attacking Mai with questions, usually ones like "How are you?" and "Are you ok? Are you sure?" numerous times. Someone would come in to check on her, then leave, and then ten minutes later someone ELSE would come in and check on her, and ask her the very same question she had answered only minutes ago.

Mai decided that she was sick of it.

She was perfectly capable of taking care of herself. She'd done it since she was in middle school. Due to that fact, she wasn't used to getting very much attention, and now that something seemed to be wrong with her on a level that could affect her life in general, she'd been shown nothing but attention. As unwanted as it was, she was touched that her friends and co-workers cared about her enough to want help her, but she still couldn't help but to get annoyed. Naru was the worst of them all. He wasn't caring and gentle, as everyone else had tried to be. Instead, he would be curt and straightforward as always, but he was around her too much for Mai to just brush it off this time. Ever since she was released from the hospital, she had been at his house recuperating. Mai felt fine, and had insisted that she go to her own home, but Naru, being Naru, had already made up his mind, and when that happened, he almost always got what he wanted. One way, or another.

And so now, it was Sunday evening, and Mai was in a big room, with a big TV, in Naru's big house, with a very big attitude. She had SCHOOL tomorrow, as well as rehearsals. There was a test on the Meiji era that she had to brush up on, and a trigonometry quiz she had to prepare for. There was so much to do, and yet she couldn't even get out of bed without hearing grief from someone (mostly Naru), much less go home and prepare for the next day.

The only ray of light that shone down on her dark mood was that she had her cellphone. She had to fight Naru on the issue of keeping it with her. He claimed it would be a nuisance and unnecessary for her resting period. Mai claimed that it would be the one thing to keep her busy and occupying her time when she wasn't "resting" instead of bothering him needlessly. It was no contest as to who won.

But after texting and talking on it for almost the whole first night she was at his house, the phone battery ran low, and Naru refused to let her get her charger. After twenty minutes of arguing, she called it quits.

Sitting in the bed that wasn't hers, staring blankly and uninterestedly at the TV that wasn't hers, in the dark room that wasn't hers, Mai couldn't help but feel a little testy. She narrowed her eyes.

"I can't take this anymore!" she said. She threw off the covers and slid to the edge of the bed. She slipped her feet into the slippers that weren't hers, and made her way across the dark room, careful not to run into anything, to the door, and pulled it open.

"Where do you think you are going?" Naru asked. Mai blinked, and then glared at him.

"I was actually just on my way to find you." She answered. Naru pushed past her and into the dark room. He flipped on the light switch and the room was instantly luminous.

"I told you not to get out of bed." He said. Mai rolled her eyes and then placed a hand on her hip.

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about." she said. "I can't just stay in bed and do nothing. I've been in bed all day. I need to do something."

"Sleeping is something." Naru responded.

"I will sleep. Later. I have too much to do right now. I have things to prepare for tomorrow. I need to go home and–"

"You are not going home. You are staying here until we figure out what is going on with you." Naru said. He was standing in front of the large book case that was placed against the wall, browsing through the titles.

"I have school tomorrow. How am I supposed to go to school when I don't even have my uniform or my bag?" she asked him. Naru didn't seem to be listening to her as he found a book and puled it from the shelf.

"That is so rude." She muttered under her breath. She was referring to how he had his back turned to her as she was talking. That happened a lot, but since Mai was slightly annoyed, the action did nothing to help her mood.

"So is being unappreciative of the one who is trying to help you." Naru said.

"I don't need help. I'm fine!"

"So you say, but I cannot take your word for it. And in regard to your earlier question, I sent Lin to your apartment to gather some of the essentials needed for your stay here." Naru told her. Mai stared at him.

"Really? When?"

"About an hour ago."

"Oh." she said. "How did he get into my apartment? I'm the only one that has a key."

"You are a predictable person, Mai. It wasn't hard to find the spare key that you keep hidden behind the door knocker. Speaking of which, you should really get that fixed. The slightest touch will make it fall out of place." Naru said.

Mai rolled her eyes. "So where is my stuff?"

"Lin just returned. Your things will be here in a few moments." He said. He flipped through the pages of the book and put it back. He grabbed the one next to it, and flipped through its pages. He closed it and then turned to walk out of the room. Mai wasn't really interested in what it was about. She knew that if she asked, he would most likely reply with a snide remark about her intelligence.

"So... just to be clear, I am going to school tomorrow." She told him. Naru gave no indication he had her. When he was out of the room and walking down the hallway he threw back at her, "What good would it do you? You don't seem to be learning anything."

She slammed the door and fumed about his insensitive character for the rest of the night.

* * *

The first thing Mai's friend Keiko said to her the following morning when she entered the classroom was, "How are you feeling?"

Mai smiled at her friend. It was good to see her after dealing with the always stoic Naru all weekend. "I'm feeling fine. Made a full recovery."

"That's good. I was so worried. Yuki and I went to go see you Saturday, but the lady at the desk said that you had checked out. You weren't at your house, and then Yuki told me that you were at your boss's house."

"Yeah. It was as close to hell as I ever plan to get." Mai joked. Keiko giggled. Yuki entered the room then and made a beeline for her two friends. They chattered energetically with each other all the way up to the morning bell.

In between classes, students that were in the play with Mai went to see how she was doing. They all asked the same question, and she gave the same answer. The day went by quickly, and rehearsals arrived soon enough. The instructor was ecstatic to see that she had made a full recovery. He emphatically expressed his joy to her every chance he got. Mai had the feeling that he was actually overjoyed because he didn't have to postpone the play like he had originally thought.

'_He honestly wouldn't even have to worry about that if I had an understudy like everyone else...'_ Mai thought.

Rehearsals commenced as they always did. Stretching warm ups, vocal exercises, running through the lines. Mai was actually glad to be back on the stage.

"Alright everyone! We will be rehearsing the dance number from act five!" The instructor announced. Everyone involved in that dance hurried to the correct spot on stage.

The music started off soft and slowly. Mai gracefully leaned to the left and drew out her arm slowly. Everyone around her moved slowly, in accordance to the music. She leaned to the right and gave a playful smile to the male dancer. She reached her arm and touched his cheek, and then slid her index finger down to his chin, and his neck and shoulders, and then down his arm. When it got to his hand, made a motion to reach out and grab her, but she twirled away. A male dancer with dark hair and broad shoulders stepped out of the dance line and in front of her. His hands trailed from her shoulders to her forearms, and then he snatched her wrists roughly and held her. Another male dancer gracefully jumped out of line and spun on his heel. He pushed his arm out to the seats in the audience. A female dancer came up behind him and wrapped her arms around his torso. She lifted her leg and placed it on his hip. The male dancer began to speak in accordance to the song:

_We have a dance!_

_In the brothels of Beunos Aires_

_Tells the story..._

_Of a prostitute–!_

Mai gasped dramatically as the dancer drew her to him roughly.

_And the man– _

Tetsuya shuffled slowly, sadly, from behind the people in the dance line. He looked woeful and depressed, hands limply down at his sides.

_Who fell in love_

_With her..._

Everyone turned and looked pointedly at Tetsuya, then pranced out of line to a different spot.

"CUT!" The instructor called out loudly. When Mai looked at his face, he didn't look so joyous anymore.

And now Mai really didn't want to be back on the stage at all.

When rehearsals ended, Mai was exhausted. She lay on the floor, eyes closed, her legs stretched out and propped against the wall, sweating and trying to catch her breath. She honestly didn't think that two days of "Rest" would make a simple dance number harder then it should be.

Scratch that. It wasn't simple. It was the most complicated piece of "art" she had ever had to deal with. Maybe the soreness in her limbs were justified?

As Mai laid there debating in her head, she did not hear the sound of sneakers shuffling across the wood, only to stop right next to her. Mai opened her eyes and made a startled noise when she saw Kenji standing over her. She rolled over to her side and then stood up to face him.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you." he said earnestly. Mai gave a small, embarrassed laugh.

"It's all right. I should've been paying more attention." she said. She waited for him to say something after that. When he was still silent after a few moments she spoke again, "So, um, what's up?"

Kenji shrugged and shoved his hands into his pockets. "Not much. I was just wandering around, trying to kill sometime before my brother comes to pick me up."

"Oh, you have a brother?" Mai asked with interest.

"Yeah. He's my twin."

"Wow. That's pretty cool." she said.

Kenji shrugged again. "I guess. It's just like having a regular sibling, only he looks like me. It's kind of hard to explain."

"Oh, I think I get it." Mai said, thinking about Naru and Gene. Come to think of it, she hadn't seen Gene around much lately...

"If he's your brother, how come I've never seen him around?" Mai said. She turned her body to lean back against the wall. Kenji copied her action.

"We don't go to the same school. He got accepted into a prestigious art academy in another district."

"That's pretty cool. What's it called?"

"I can't remember the name." he said.

Mai had talked to Kenji before. They'd been in middle school together, and he was always friendly and happy. It was just a few weeks ago that she had been getting an uneasy feeling whenever she talked to him. As much as she tried to ignore it, that feeling was starting rear it's mysterious little head in the pit of her stomach. She wasn't sure what it was, so she decided it was probably nothing. Even so, after that uneasy feeling started to come around, she tried to never talk to Kenji for long. It didn't help much that he wanted to date her, and it didn't help at _all_ that he was her designated dance partner in the play.

Mai began to shift uncomfortably, slyly inching away from him. Perhaps this was all in her head. Maybe she should–

"Are you ok?" Kenji asked. Mai's head snapped in his direction. With wide eyes, she asked, "What do you mean?"

"You look kind of pale for some reason. I know you just recently got out of the hospital so maybe today's rehearsal was a lot for you?"

"Oh! Oh, no, no, no. I'm fine. I just remembered that... that I, uh, that I needed to get to work right after rehearsal. I'm really late." she said.

"Oh. Well, do you need a ride? My brother is here." Kenji said. Mai blinked at him in confusion.

"Really? How do you–"

"Kenji!"

Mai's head whipped around to the source of the third voice. There was a boy running over to them. Kenji's height, Kenji's hair, Kenji's eyes, nose, mouth...

Kenji's everything.

A dark feeling sifted into Mai's mind.

"Hey," Kenji greeted, smiling. "Daisuke, this is my classmate, Mai. Mai, this is my brother Daisuke."

Daisuke smiled charmingly and stuck out his hand. "Nice to meet you."

Mai hesitantly grabbed it with her own, and shook. "Uh, nice to meet you too."

Daisuke stared at Mai for a second or two with a suspicious look in his eyes before he released her hand and turned to his brother.

"You about ready to go?" he asked. Kenji nodded.

"I'll talk to you another time, Mai-san." Kenji said and then began to walk away from her.

"I'll talk to you another time, too." Daisuke said tonelessly. A chill ran all through Mai as she stood there watching them leave. Even though it was Kenji who liked her, Daisuke looked back at her over his shoulder one last time before they were completely gone from the auditorium.

Frozen with uncertain fear, Mai wasn't sure to make of her little meeting with Daisuke. Even though his voice was charming, Just like Kenji's, she could tell it was only to mask the real feeling he held. Mai was certain when she made the decision to never find out.

* * *

**Late update, yeah yeah. I know. Maim me later.**

**REVIEW PLEASE!**

Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt or Moulin Rouge.


	4. A very serious AN note from LAS

**Dear Reader, **

You might not like this note very much but, it is very important. Please take it seriously.

There are currently six (6) stories that I don't think I will ever finish, and this story is one of them. Please visit my profile and partake in the poll that I have set up, to help me decide the course of action I should take.

Please and thank you,

Sincerely,

**L.A.S.**


	5. A DECISION HAS BEEN MADE!

**Dear Reader, **

As you may or may not know, I put up a poll on my profile to help me make a decision about 6 specific stories of mine that I'm giving up.

You will all be pleased to know that I have decided on a fabulous author to continue on with **MOULIN ROUGE!**

DA DA-DA DAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (sound effects xD)

MerlynAstraea.

If you have any questions, feel free to pm me, or go to her profile and form your own opinion of her yourself. :D

I promise she won't disappoint you.

~LAS


	6. Author's Note

Dear reader,

It's been a while, so hi again ahaha. Anyways, this is totally out of the blue but I have decided to not give up on this story.

Yes dear reader, I shall continue on with ALL of my stories. Not just this one.

Sorry for confusing you, yeah?

LAS.


End file.
